Official Languages Committee on Oct. 27th, 2011

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I will be sharing my time with my colleague, Mr. Aubin.

When you appeared before the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, you noted that “a number of initiatives in the roadmap do not have a component for the English-speaking communities of Quebec—for example, in the areas of literacy and child care.”

Mrs. Martin-Laforge, we travelled across the country. We met with minority francophone communities. We were surprised to see the programs in the communities. They were being provided thanks to roadmap money that had been sent to the provinces. The money was used to help support programs for literacy, early childhood services or keeping young people in their community. For example, Albertan families were able to have day care centres in their francophone schools. That ensured that the children attending the francophone day care would then attend the francophone school.

Unless I am mistaken, you seemed to be saying earlier that, in Quebec, this issue has not received attention.

Should the government proceed with another roadmap, would it be important, in your opinion, that consideration be given in Quebec to the issue of literacy, as has been done in all communities.

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

Often, it is difficult to implement a Canada-wide initiative in Quebec. It is because of the jurisdictional issues. So we are wondering how community initiatives under the roadmap can be offered on the ground.

Earlier, I said that the best practice for Quebec, in terms of the roadmap

--I'm sorry, English, French, bilingue.

They say we live longer and don't have Alzheimer's; I hope that's true.

The health model has been the best model for us. I don't know if folks in the committee will be seeing members of our community from the Community Health and Social Services Network, but that model has worked extremely well, to help the community, vitality, and individuals, to connect that very important...the individual and the community, and the connection to the province.

[Stephen Thompson]

The other thing about the health agreement that's important is that it also answers questions of accountability. What we have here, then, is an agreement where federal money is coming into the province. The community has a say on where the money's going, and the community can track the money and work with the province. So this health agreement is really a model of how to support our community with federal money.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

I am still concerned about the evaluation of the current roadmap and I am particularly concerned about the next one. I know that you have prepared the Community Development Plan for English-speaking Communities in Quebec 2005-2010.

Do you have a new five-year plan that is about to be submitted? If so, could we have a copy?

In your opinion, how can we take the wishes contained in your five-year plan and link them to the next roadmap, if there is one?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

We are a bit in the catch-up phase on that.

We had a plan up until 2010. We asked that it be extended. Our members were in favour of extending it. We wanted to do some work in the community with respect to our longer-term priorities. Earlier, we talked about a five-year scenario. We can talk about the next 15 years. So, what will our priorities be over the next 15 years?

We obtained some money through a Canadian Heritage initiative. Unfortunately, there has been a bit of time lag. We will be holding an important conference in March in order to set priorities for the community.

At the moment, we are consulting across the province.

We call them roving consultations. We are right in the middle of doing consultations for a conference in mid-March that will bring together at least 100 people in the community to give priorities to the government.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Monsieur Gourde.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Like you, earlier, I spoke about the importance of the anglophone community that comes from regions like mine. You talked about the economic importance, but I would also like to talk to you about the historical importance. Unfortunately, it is often forgotten in Quebec. These communities have made a difference at different times.

I would like to point out that, in 1995, during the referendum, contrary to what was reported, the 30,000 votes that were missing were perhaps in the Montreal region. This anglophone community quietly mobilized and voted massively in favour of keeping our country. This community made a big difference in the history of our country.

These people have never been recognized for their contribution. Simply and quietly, they showed, in democratic fashion, that they were attached to their country and that this was important to them. They made a big difference in the history of our country.

I am proud today to say this, because I felt this at the time. I was there, in 1995. I know this community, I know what they did had an impact on what we are today, a beautiful and great country.

Through our programs, do you think that we should be doing more studies on our history and on the history of these communities that are located everywhere, in Quebec and outside of Quebec?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

When I mentioned a beautiful success story that was part of the roadmap, I was referring to the Cultural Development Fund. If there is something that we should keep, it would be the fund pertaining to schools. We have to be able to see how we can work in our schools to try to show young people the importance of their contribution to Quebec, Canadian and regional heritage.

We have a member from

the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, which does some fabulous work in Quebec with little museums in the Gaspé and in the Magdalen Islands. I was in the Magdalen Islands in September, and there are people there who are preserving their cultural heritage. The anglophones are doing wonderful work. It's not just to preserve the little church or the little museum. In the Magdalen Islands, there are more and more boats coming in, the big cruise ships. So there is cultural development. You get tourists coming in and you get employment, and this is really important for the economic development of the region. So with cultural development, patrimoine, you do it because it's important culturally and for a sense of identity for the community. But you also do it with an economic development mandate.

I am therefore completely in agreement with you when it comes to heritage and the development of culture. I have some very wonderful examples from the Magdalen Islands region.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Could you provide the committee with these examples?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

I would be pleased to do so.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Monsieur Bélanger.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Thank you.

Madame, you said you were an optimist, which brings to mind a phrase that I've often used: in society, both the optimist and the pessimist are required. One will invent the airplane and the other one the parachute. That's very much like Parliament. Government members tend to see things through an optimistic lens; opposition members will tend to see things through a pessimistic lens, and somehow Canadians are expected to see a balance out of that. Let's hope they do.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Monsieur Thompson, did anyone ask Mr. Corbeil the following question: If the two linguistic questions added to the short form as a result of the legal action undertaken by the FCFA had not been added to the short form, would he be in a position to provide the same kind of assurance as to the quality of the information? Was that question asked of Mr. Corbeil?

[Stephen Thompson]

The question was not asked.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

It should have been. Maybe we'll get a chance to ask him at some point if he appears before the committee.

On the matter of the Olympics, yes, it was a good show for two weeks, but that's two weeks, and 400,000 anglophones outside of Montreal, the ones you call from the regions, probably did not go. I understand the symbolic importance of the Olympics, but I also understand the daily importance to these 400,000 anglophones of access to education, access to early childhood services, and access to health services in their own language, especially the older folk, because you withdraw into your own mother tongue when you're at a certain stage in life and you're faced with certain illnesses. I know whereof I speak. I've had occasion to witness that in my family.

I want to put that in perspective. I don't denigrate the importance of what you said, Mr. Weston, but I don't think the comparison is a good one, and that's why we had a feuille de route and that's why we had an action plan.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

A point of clarification. This is not going to take from your time, but I think the numbers Mr. Thompson provided weren't entirely accurate. I looked up on my BlackBerry, because I thought it was odd that only 585,000 first official language spoken anglophones lived in the Montreal census metropolitan area. I looked it up on StatsCan. It's actually 801,000 out of a total of 995,000.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

So 180,000 or so outside of the metropolitan census area. Thank you for getting the numbers.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

There are 194,000 outside of the census metropolitan area. To clarify, 995,000 first official language spoken are English anglophones in Quebec, of which 801,000 live in the Montreal census metropolitan area.

You have the floor, Mr. Bélanger.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

How much time do I have left, Mr. Chairman?

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

You have two minutes left. I'll be generous--a generous two minutes.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Oh, thank you.

Two questions. The midpoint evaluation of the action plan was made public. It's on the website. How do you feel about the midpoint evaluation of the feuille de route not being made public?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

I think it would be important to have access to best practices and information at a midpoint to make enlightened decisions. I would say this about anything.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Thank you.

I have another question that is not related to the feuille de route. I don't know if it will be ruled out of order or not.

As parliamentarians, we will be asked in the fairly near future to deal with a bill that's now before the House, Bill C-315, I think is its number. Do you have an opinion on that bill, and, if so, are you prepared to share it with us?

[Sylvia Martin-Laforge]

The bill is under study at the QCGN. We have looked at previous bills from the Bloc and the NDP, and we are sensitive to the fact that it might be seen as an important avancée for the francophones in Quebec. Right now we are examining the impact on the English-speaking community, so we're in the process--